Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Falcons LB Lorenzo Carter questionable to return vs. Colts due to a head injury
Atlanta Falcons outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter has exited Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts after suffering a head injury in the third quarter. Carter is being evaluated for a concussion and is questionable to return, per team reporter Tori McElhaney.
Lorenzo Carter is being evaluated for a potential head injury. His return is questionable.
— Tori McElhaney (@tori_mcelhaney) December 24, 2023
The Falcons currently hold a 20-10 lead over the Colts in the third quarter.
Falcons LB Lorenzo Carter’s new contract is worth $9 million over two years
The Atlanta Falcons signed linebacker Lorenzo Carter to a two-year deal on Tuesday, but without knowing the rest of the contract details, fans weren’t sure what to make of the signing.
According to ESPN’s Michael Rothstein, the contract is worth $9 million over two years, with $5.25 million in guaranteed money.
Full details on Lorenzo Carter's 2-year deal with the #Falcons.
Total: $9 million, $5.25 million guaranteed. Signing bonus $2 million.
2023: $3.25 million base fully guaranteed, $5.25 million cap hit.
2024: $3.75 million base; $4.75 million cap hit.
— Michael Rothstein (@mikerothstein) March 9, 2023
Carter gets a $2 million signing bonus and his 2023 cap hit will be north of $5 million. In 2024, Carter will have a cap hit of $4.75 million.
So how much money do the Falcons have left to spend in free agency? According to Over The Cap‘s projections, Atlanta has $62.9 million in cap space after signing Carter. This leaves plenty of money to address the defense and potentially find a new right tackle in free agency.
The Falcons chose not to use the franchise tag on Kaleb McGary, and since the team is reportedly not going after Lamar Jackson, Atlanta may have its eye on a few other big-name free agents.
Carter, 27, was a starter last season. His contract indicates he’ll remain a key part of the defense for the next year at least. The former Georgia Bulldog was originally drafted in the third round of the 2018 draft by the New York Giants. Carter recorded 33 QB pressures and four sacks for the Falcons last season.
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The #Falcons have re-signed Lorenzo Carter to a two-year deal
The Atlanta Falcons have re-signed linebacker Lorenzo Carter to a two-year deal, the team announced on Tuesday morning. Carter, 27, signed with Atlanta as a free agent in 2022 and finished the season with 58 tackles, four sacks and an interception.
Carter should provide some good depth along the edge for the Falcons in 2023. The team hired defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen in an effort to get its pass rush back on track. Atlanta finished with just 21 sacks last season.
Welcome back, dawg
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) March 7, 2023
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Former Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Lorenzo Carter is back in Atlanta on a two-year deal
Former Georgia Bulldogs outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter is reportedly returning to the Atlanta Falcons on a two-year deal. Carter is one of the Falcons’ top pass rushers.
Carter signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal with the Atlanta Falcons last offseason. Carter has 18.5 career sacks in his five-season NFL career.
Carter is expected to continue have a large role with the Falcons in 2023. The 6-foot-5, 255-pound outside linebacker is expected to start for Atlanta. Carter has all the physical traits to succeed.
The Falcons need to have a stronger pass rush. Atlanta had the fewest sacks in the NFL over the past two seasons (39 total sacks). The Falcons finished with only 21 sacks last year, which was No. 31 in the NFL.
Carter was the Falcons’ second-leading sack man in 2022. Carter finished the season with four sacks, which was only behind defensive end Grady Jarrett. Carter also recorded 58 total tackles and returned an interception for a touchdown in his first season with the Falcons.
Atlanta addressed the edge rusher position in the 2022 NFL draft. The Falcons selected Penn State defensive end Arnold Ebiketie in the second round and Western Kentucky edge rusher DeAngelo Malone in the third round.
However, the Falcons need more pass rushers: 21 sacks in a season is not going to cut it in the NFL. Atlanta needs to continue to bolster its pass rush after signing Lorenzo Carter. You can never have too many pass rushers in the NFL.
An improved defense would go a long way toward helping the Falcons compete for a division crown in the wide-open NFC South.
The NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported the news that Carter was returning to the Falcons on a two-year contract. The Falcons shared Lorenzo Carter’s official contract signing. Carter is wearing a nice looking jacket:
The Norcross kid is staying home@_zocarter pic.twitter.com/SmVowdfF9M
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) March 7, 2023
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The New York Giants are projected to receive two compensatory picks in the 2023 NFL draft, bringing their total number of picks to 11.
There seems to be some confusion regarding the amount of draft picks the New York Giants will have in the upcoming NFL draft.
Many draft prognostication sites around the internet are listing the Giants with 10 or 11 selections but according to general manager Joe Schoen, who spoke to the media on Monday, the team currently has nine.
The Giants could — repeat, could — be awarded a compensatory pick or two next month by the league.
Per Over the Cap’s Cancellation Chart, Big Blue is currently in line for two compensatory picks — one in Round 6 and one in Round 7. That would give them 11 selections in total.
Over The Cap is projecting the Giants will be awarded a sixth-round pick for losing linebacker Lorenzo Carter to Atlanta in free agency and another for losing defensive back Keion Crossen to Miami.
That is not official, however. That is an estimate provided by a third-party prognosticator who is not affiliated with the NFL. To be fair, though, OTC has been a reliable source in the past.
So, how many picks do the Giants have right now? Nine, as Schoen said.
They hold the 25th overall pick in Round 1 and then have their own selections in Rounds 2, 3, 4, and 5.
They have an additional selection in Round 3 from Kansas City as a result of the Kadarius Toney trade. It is not the Chiefs’ regular pick, however. It is a compensatory pick at the end of the round the Chiefs were awarded when the Chicago Bears hired Ryan Poles — Kansas City’s director of player personnel — away to be their general manager.
The Giants do not have their sixth-round pick in this draft. They traded that to Houston in August of 2021 for Crossen. That, ironically, can turn into that seventh-rounder OTC is projecting.
The Giants do, however, have Kansas City’s sixth-round pick as completion of the Toney trade.
In Round 7, the Giants have two selections, their own and the one they got from Baltimore in the Ben Bredeson trade in the summer of 2021.
So, the Giants have one pick in each of the first, second, fourth, fifth, and sixth rounds and two in each of the third and seventh rounds.
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Identifying a few players who would make sense for the Los Angeles Chargers via trade.
The Chargers have been hit with injuries to key players, but it’s safe to say their roster is still solid. Nonetheless, a couple of position groups could be revamped as we near the halfway point of the season.
With that in mind, let’s identify a few players who would make sense for Los Angeles via trade, with the deadline quickly approaching on November 1.
When the New York Giants take on the Tennessee Titans in Week 1, 13 different players will start compared to Week 1 of last season.
The New York Giants saw significant change this offseason as yet another rebuild was ushered in under the leadership of first-time general manager Joe Schoen.
In addition to a front office and scouting overhaul, the Giants also saw significant roster turnover. Nearly 50 percent of the roster was altered in some way, shape or form and that will be represented in Week 1 of the 2022 regular season.
When the Giants take on the Tennessee Titans, 13 Week 1 starters from last year’s team will have been replaced — some outright and some due to injury.
Here’s a quick look at those 13 changes from 2021 to 2022.
In a 2018 NFL draft re-grade, Bleacher Report gives the New York Giants a letter grade of C- and that’s being very generous.
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Many pundits believe the New York Giants’ losing ways have been proliferated by poor drafting and point to the 2018 NFL draft as the linchpin of that argument.
The Giants held the second overall selection in the draft that year, which was being touted as having one of the best quarterback classes in years. The Giants kew that Eli Manning only had a year or two of productivity left and were in position to take Manning’s successor.
They did not.
The Cleveland Browns selected Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield — the 2017 Heisman Trophy winner — with the first pick. The Giants then grabbed Penn State running back Saquon Barkley with the second pick, passing on several quarterbacks, including USC’s Sam Darnold, Josh Allen of Wyoming, UCLA’s Josh Rosen and Lamar Jackson of Louisville.
We now know how all of that worked out. Allen and Jackson are superstars while the others have bounced around the league. Barkley’s career has hit the skids due to injuries after a breakout rookie season.
Bleacher Report recently revised that draft and assigned Giants and then general manager Dave Gettleman a C- grade. Barkley is the only player from that draft class that is still the Giants.
“The idea of taking the best available player sounds good until it leads to taking a running back No. 2 overall when the team needs a quarterback,” writes BR’s Ian Wharton. “Imagine where the New York Giants could be today had they drafted and developed either Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson rather than Saquon Barkley.”
Water under the bridge. The Giants took a quarterback the next season in the first round, Duke’s Daniel Jones, who the jury is still out on. Had the Giants hit on Jones, few would be so critical of their 2018 draft performance.
The other players taken in 2018 are: UTEP OG Will Hernandez (No. 34 overall), Georgia LB Lorenzo Carter (No. 66 overall), NC State DT B.J. Hill (No. 69 overall), Richmond QB Kyle Lauletta (No. 108 overall), Miami DT R.J. McIntosh (No. 139 overall).
All five of these players are still in the league with other teams after up-and-down careers with the Giants. Wharton pretty much acknowledged that in his closing statement.
“We aren’t going to punish the Giants for their decision to draft Barkley at No. 2 since he was a star for two years. The rest of this draft class was a mediocre group who underachieved after a coaching change, though,” he wrote.
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Former Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Lorenzo Carter is expected to be the top edge rusher for the Atlanta Falcons next season
Former Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Lorenzo Carter signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal with the Atlanta Falcons this offseason. Carter, a former New York Giant, has 14.5 career sacks in his four season NFL career.
Carter is expected to have a large role with the Falcons in 2022. The 6-foot-5, 255-pound outside linebacker is expected to start for Atlanta. Carter has all the physical traits to succeed. Atlanta’s 2021 sack leader, Dante Fowler (4.5 sacks), left the team in free agency. Now, the Falcons are looking for pass rushers to step up.
Atlanta addressed the edge rusher position in the 2022 NFL draft. The Falcons selected Penn State defensive end Arnold Ebiketie in the second round and Western Kentucky edge rusher DeAngelo Malone in the third round. Still, Atlanta needs more production from veterans.
If the Falcons want to improve defensively, they must have a stronger pass rush. Atlanta had 18 sacks last season, by far the fewest of any team in the NFL. The Philadelphia Eagles (29 sacks) were the only other team to record fewer than 30 sacks.
The Falcons are in the middle of a rebuild on both sides of the football. Atlanta will be much more fun to watch in 2022 if it can get more production from its pass rush and Carter.
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The New York Giants attempted to re-sign LB Lorenzo Carter but his loss actually slightly helps their potential for 2023 compensatory picks.
The New York Giants were in the mix to re-sign free agent linebacker Lorenzo Carter last week but were simply outbid by the Atlanta Falcons.
Carter was a starter and rated as a player in the compensatory mix for the Giants for next season. Where the Giants stand right now is still fluid, but the Carter loss should work in their favor, reports Zack Rosenblatt of NJ Advance Media.
The Giants supposedly were pushing to bring back Carter but presumably weren’t willing to go too far above the minimum. The Falcons have caught flak for signing Carter to a compensatory-eligible deal, thus cancelling out a fourth-round comp pick they would get for losing linebacker Foyesade Oluokun. But the Giants certainly aren’t mad about that decision: OTC estimates Carter’s deal valued as a seventh-round comp pick.
Before free agency, the Giants had several free agents that — if signed away — could factor into the formula that would gain them consideration in the compensatory draft pool next year.
Over the Cap rated their potential to cash in as low in a recent assessment of next year’s comp picks:
The new front office in New York has been aggressively cutting salary in more than just an effort to get cap compliant. This would indicate that may be interested in making several top moves in free agency to churn the roster to their liking. They have a few players (Will Hernandez, Evan Engram, Jabrill Peppers) that might get good deals elsewhere, but those CFA losses could be offset by CFA signings on the Giants’ end. Potential: Low
Over the Cap’s comp pick cancellation chart is currently rating the Carter signing as adding any picks for the Giants next year.
Currently, they are projected to get a 5th rounder for Engram (who was signed by Jacksonville and a 7th for Keion Crossen, who was signed by Miami.
The losses of Carter and defensive lineman Austin Johnson are being offset by the Giants’ signings of offensive lineman Mark Glowinski and quarterback Tyrod Taylor.
The signings of running back Matt Breida and defensive end Jihad Ward are not eligible for compensation.
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